What has John been up to in the Bent Tree workshop?

Welcome to John's workshop, where he is creating willow orbs. Here are several in various states of completion. See some completed orbs below....

" Willow Moons or Rustic Orbs--we call them by both names. They come with or without a stand, and measure from 4" to 9" diameter. They are great conversation pieces, and everyone loves to touch them. I think it's because they are soooo smooth and so...round!

This table we dubbed "The Manhattan Table", as it looks like it would fit right in to a New York City condo. This one is at home in St. Louis.

Taos-style chairs with willow slat seats and backs.

Oblong dining table and eight Taos-style chairs. Table has a pine top, and chairs have sculpted-pine seats.

This 'root-base' dining table with antique barnwood top is now at home in California, surrounded by the family's own upholstered chairs. What a beautiful setting!

The 'Freestyle' Bed, so named because every bed is different, depending on the way the willow pieces were formed in nature.

This interesting-shaped console table has been quite popular. This one has a pine top and lower willow shelf.

Well, you made it to the end of the The Bent Tree Gallery blog for today. Please check back again; John has a lot more to show you! And please stop by Marcia's online store when you get a chance; it's at www.thebenttreegallery.etsy.com.

Mississippi River Driftwood Baskets

Since we live and work near the Mississippi River, we love to sing its praises. Not only does this wonderful river give us fish, transportation, and recreation, it gives us little things...its beauty in a sunrise, a shore along which to stroll, and occasionally, a wonderful sculpted piece of driftwood.

The wall baskets I created the past two weeks gave me such satisfaction! The handles are all gifts of the river. Sometimes I try to alter a piece to make it shorter, or trim off something that doesn't look quite right to me. Then I realize just how much better the river does at smoothing and sculpting the wood!

The baby of the family....

This little guy is the smallest basket, at just 4 1/2" tall. Little baskets are tedious, but the result is often more satisfying than a larger piece.

My personal favorite

Don't you love how this handle undulates? I almost did a little dance when I found this piece!

The handle dictates the size and shape of the basket. Balance is important so the size of the handle tells me how big the basket should be. (I like the one with the "X" handle...the branches grafted together with the resulting amazing piece of driftwood, bark still intact.)

Mississippi River Driftwood Wall Baskets

Driftwood inspires me!

The past two weeks I have been creating wall baskets using Mississippi River driftwood. The river flows just a block from The Bent Tree Gallery, our physical rustic showroom in Clarksville, Missouri, just north of St. Louis. All summer the river has threatened to flood, and has in fact been up well into our Riverfront Park. I have been gathering interesting driftwood as I walk my Grandogs, and found time recently to incorporate some of the interesting and quirky pieces into wall baskets. Now mounted and for sale on a wall of the gallery, here they are!